1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to server and storage management and, more particularly, to searching in a server management environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Enterprise computing environments are increasingly characterized by the heterogeneity of their storage systems, server hardware, network infrastructure elements, application software, and operating systems. For example, storage devices in a network may include different types of devices having different storage models and storage capacities. As the number of vendors responsible for the elements of the enterprise computing environment grows, so too does the complexity of system administration.
Managing individual servers in a heterogeneous storage environment is increasingly difficult as the environment scales in size and complexity. Each server may demand configuration and maintenance of its operating system, application software, storage, network connections, and other resources. Appropriate user interfaces may centralize the management of servers and their associated resources in a single management console.
Typically, these management interfaces use a hierarchical, “drill-down” approach. To reach a particular object in a hierarchical interface, the user (e.g., the system administrator) may be required to descend from the root level through many successive levels of the hierarchy. In order to find a particular object using the hierarchical interface, the user may also be required to know the exact identity and location of the target object in the hierarchy. If this knowledge is not readily available, the usefulness of the hierarchical interface is compromised. Furthermore, if the target object exists in more than one context, the hierarchical interface may not provide a convenient way to switch from one context to another. It is therefore desirable to provide improved systems and methods for managing servers and their associated resources.